The field of the present invention is the recovery of fluid from wells.
The conventional method of removing oil from a well is by a pump. Many wells either because of the low rate of flow, the high viscosity of the fluid or for other reasons are unpumpable or uneconomical to pump. Alternate methods of extraction have been proposed such as an endless belt in Rhodes U.S. Pat. No. 3,774,685 and Pedley U.S. Pat. No. 769,014, an endless chain with absorbent material in Hawley U.S. Pat. No. 1,007,282 or an endless chain in Gustafson U.S. Pat. No. 2,704,981.
The instant invention improves upon such suggestions by providing oil carrying cavities in an endless link chain which is driven at variable speeds to accommodate well conditions.